“A surprise discovery”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Luke 24:13-35 (Forward, p. 75) CEV p. 1097

This account of two disciples’ trip to the village of Emmaus has to be one of the touching and important stories in all of Scripture, for, to me at least, it is so true to life and so true to human nature as I know it. When we are weighed down by grief, we are totally absorbed by it, so overwhelmed by it that we can think of nothing else and see nothing else. It is our continual topic of thought and conversation, and we are surprised—and sometimes even a bit miffed—when others do not fully share our own preoccupation with it.

Such was the state of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They could think of nothing else than Jesus’ recent death, and talk of nothing else, and so were quite oblivious to everything else around them. And so they were scarcely even aware of the stranger who came alongside them and who eavesdropped upon their conversation for quite a while. Certainly, their minds being fully engaged in their sorrowful and gloomy talk of Jesus’ death and their profound disappointment and grief over their dashed hopes, their minds were clouded as to who this stranger might be.

I find it rather revealing of Jesus’ sensitive and caring nature, that He allowed them to ‘babble on’ at length, just listening in without even an interruption, before He finally broke into their talk to ask them what it was all about. And given their own utter absorption in this unhappy topic, it is hardly surprising that they were astounded that this stranger was not already ‘on their wavelength’, was not already informed and privy to the sad and terrible recent events in Jerusalem.

And so, after listening to them for the longest time, Jesus then draws them out, gets them to explain themselves, and then, in a masterful way, provides them with some perspective by drawing out some lessons from the Biblical record as to begin to make sense of this whole sordid affair. But even then they did not recognize who Jesus was. It was only as they shared a meal and broke bread that it dawned on them!

And, it says a lot about Jesus’ care and sensitivity and compassion, that He ‘made as if to go on’, that He did not force Himself upon them and upon their grief, even in terms of their evening meal. And such is our Lord with

each of us: He walks with us, alongside us, listening in to our babble and only chiming in after a while, and only sticking with us at our bidding and our invitation. But, He is indeed ‘Emmanuel’, God with us, and so always there and available, should we want and need Him. He is always ‘there for the asking’. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Forward notes: “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place” (verse 21).

“This passage comes from the story of the Road to Emmaus, at a time when the disciples felt hopeless. That’s a feeling we all experience.

“Life in Cuba has always been complicated for various reasons, but in the last five years, we have experienced tragedies that have really shaken us and stolen our hopes. First, there was a plane crash—something unheard of in Cuba. Natural disasters have left many homeless; a cruel financial crisis is driving thousands to migrate; 14 firefighters, some of them teenagers, died in a recent fire; and we are experiencing seemingly endless shortages of basic food items. Sadness and hopelessness are defeating our people, and it’s hard to see a way out.

“Those people on the road to Emmaus did not know that Jesus walked with them and listened to them. Our people, too, feel lonely and empty. More than ever, we need Jesus walking next to us.:

Moving Forward: “Read Luke 24:13-35. Have you had brief encounters with strangers who gave you a new perspective or insight?”